The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has granted initial approval for Bitwise Asset Management’s proposed exchange-traded fund (ETF) that will track the prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Here are the latest updates from the crypto world
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has granted initial approval for Bitwise Asset Management’s proposed exchange-traded fund (ETF) that will track the prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum.
On January 30, the SEC approved the fund’s Form 19b-4, marking the first step toward allowing the ETF to begin trading. However, Bitwise still requires the regulator’s approval of its pending Form S-1 registration application before the fund can officially launch.
Named the “Bitwise Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF,” the fund aims to provide investors with exposure to both Bitcoin and Ether in a single product. The assets will be weighted according to their respective market capitalizations, which, at the time of filing, stood at 83% Bitcoin and 17% Ether.
According to the filing, the ETF will determine market capitalization by multiplying each asset’s pricing benchmark by its circulating supply.
This approval comes shortly after the appointment of a new, crypto-friendly acting SEC chair. Bitwise originally submitted its ETF proposal in November, following Donald Trump’s election victory.
Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm has partnered with Securitize to launch a tokenized private credit fund, according to a Jan. 30 announcement.
The Apollo Diversified Credit Securitize Fund (ACRED) will tokenize shares of the Apollo Diversified Credit Fund, which holds a broad portfolio of private credit assets, including corporate direct loans and asset-backed loans, according to a statement from Securitize shared with Cointelegraph.
According to Apollo’s website, an annualized return of more than 11% in the past year and more than 5.5% since inception is received by the fund. Access is limited to qualified investors.
This tokenized fund will operate on blockchain networks including Solana, Ethereum, Avalanche, Polygon, Aptos and Ink.
Securitize, a real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform, stated that this marks its first launch of tokenized funds on Solana or Ink.
Apollo partner Christine Moy said, “This tokenization not only provides an on-chain solution for Apollo Diversified Credit Fund, but also could pave the way for broader access to private markets,including through greater secondary market liquidity.
A proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed against Pump.fun, a platform for creating Solana-based memecoins, claiming that every token it has helped launch is an unregistered security.
The suit, initiated by Diego Aguilar in a New York federal court on January 30, alleges that Pump.fun, operated by the UK-based Baton Corporation, profited nearly $500 million in fees from these tokens.
Aguilar accuses Pump.fun of using aggressive marketing tactics to create a false sense of urgency around these highly volatile tokens, leading to significant financial losses for retail investors. He describes the platform's operations as a modern version of Ponzi and pump-and-dump schemes, where prices are artificially inflated before crashing.
The lawsuit also names Baton Corporation's officers—Alon Cohen, Dylan Kerler, and Noah Bernhard Hugo Tweedale—as defendants. It seeks rescission of all token purchases made through Pump.fun, along with monetary damages and legal fees for affected investors.